


Parties Aren't My Forte

by Remuslupinismyspiritanimal



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2019-02-08 06:50:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12859113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Remuslupinismyspiritanimal/pseuds/Remuslupinismyspiritanimal
Summary: Remus and Lily have been friends forever and are off to (American-sorry!) College. Along the way they meet Peter Pettigrew, James Potter and Sirius Black. A "Getting Together" Fic.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This will be a multi-chapter fic, probably about 5 chapters total. I already have the first three written but haven't perfected them yet. Will try to post within the next day, and am hoping to have this finished by this weekend. I'm super new to the whole writing process, and again this is un-beta'd, so any mistakes are my own. Feedback greatly appreciated!

Remus Lupin was nervously pacing his tiny dormitory waiting to meet his roommate. He had filled out the application and was hoping for someone who was quiet and kept similar hours as he did. He had briefly spoken to his roommate, but so far all he knew was his name was Peter and he enjoyed cheese and World of Warcraft. Just as Remus was really working himself into a frenzy, he heard a timid knock at the door and a small, round boy with blond hair came in.  
“Hi, are you Remus? The name’s Peter, we spoke briefly? And I thought I was here early! Ha, I um, I’ll just grab my things?”  
Remus was relieved to note that Peter seemed even more nervous than he felt. It immediately put him at ease and he helped Peter bring in the rest of his belongings and get settled. Just as Peter was finishing hanging his Alliance poster above his bed, there was another knock on the door. Remus opened it and was very relieved to see his good friend Lily on the other side.  
Lily and Remus had grown up down the street from each other and had known each other since they were in diapers. Lily leaned her hip against the door and gave Remus an appraising look.  
“I hope you weren’t planning on going out like that? Will you put on some normal clothes for once? Honestly, what 18-year-old boy wears cardigans? It’s September! It’s warm! Get changed, we’re leaving in ten.”  
Lily looked at Peter and smiled. “Hi, I’m Remus’ friend, Lily. We’re going to the Rush party down the street. Want to come with? I’m forcing Remus, but since I don’t know you well, I won’t force you to come. Yet.”  
Peter blushed but seemed pleased to get an invitation. Soon the trio was off to the party, which was thrown by Greek Life on campus. Neither Lily nor Remus actually had any intention of joining Greek Life, but the word on the street was that they threw the best parties and had cheap beer.  
There was a $5 cover for all incoming freshmen, which Remus and Peter agreed was reasonable, but Lily grumbled about until they were inside and handed their first lukewarm beer from the keg.  
“Cheer up, Lil. At least the beer is free once we’re in! If it bothers you that much, we can leave. I wouldn’t mind. Really! We can go right now.”  
Lily smacked Remus on the arm. “Remus Lupin, we are not leaving! We are going to have Fun and you are going to Meet People and Put Yourself Out There.”  
Remus hated when Lily spoke in all caps like that. He was completely incapable of arguing with her. Remus decided his best course of action was to stand in the corner and try to blend in with the scenery. Lily, always vivacious and full of energy, was already bouncing around the room introducing herself and making friends. Peter shrugged, downed his beer, and went off to talk to a pretty brunette on the other side of the room. Remus didn’t mind being alone per say. He usually enjoyed it to other’s company. But the music was too loud, and he felt out of place in the tight v-neck tee Lily had insisted he wear. He wanted nothing more than to leave and go home to his dorm where he could finish reading his book, and possibly check Facebook and Tumblr for the next 6 hours.  
Just as he was checking his watch to see if he had filled his hour obligation limit (it had been about 7 minutes), he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and found a young woman standing in front of him with spiky pink hair and combat boots. She was very short but had the look of someone with a very large personality. Remus immediately began to sweat.  
“Hi! I’m Tonks! Great party. Why are you standing here in the corner? Do you want to come dance with me? Or we could leave and go somewhere else. I know a great bar, I have a fake and I’m sure you could get in without trying very hard; you have that look about you. God this beer is awful! Can you believe we had to pay a cover? Ooh, I love this song! It’s so cool, so do you want to dance? I have some friends over…”  
The more the girl, Tonks, talked, the more nervous Remus felt. He was starting to get tunnel vision. He really wanted to leave this party and this very nice, but aggressively enthusiastic girl. Just then, he felt a hand on his shoulder and was looking into a pair of grey (grey!) eyes.  
“There you are! Sorry to interrupt, but I’ve been looking for you all night! Come on, we’re all over here. Excuse us.” The man gently took Remus by the arm and led him past a confused and mildly annoyed Tonks. Remus would have felt guilty if he hadn’t been feeling so overwhelmed.  
“Here, have some water. Sorry about that, it’s just that you had that deer in the headlights look about you, figured you may need a little help. Really drink it, its just water it’ll help. I’m gonna give you a minute but I’ll just stand here until you feel ready.”  
Remus had never encountered someone who knew exactly how he felt and what he needed before. This mystery person was a godsend in Remus’ eyes. He finished the water, took a few deep breaths and began to feel a bit better. The tunnel vision receded at the very least.  
“Sorry about that, big crowds, loud music, very enthusiastic people. It drains me. Thanks for the water. I’ll be ok, really, if you want to head back to your friends.”  
The man, Remus was beginning to notice, was extremely good looking. He was wearing very tight jeans and a beat up leather jacket. He looked cool, which would have intimidated Remus more had he been paying closer attention to what he was wearing. Remus hadn’t quite figured out his sexuality, but he knew that he wasn’t straight. Especially because looking at this man with the grey eyes and dark hair was making him feel flustered in a new and different way than listening to the other girl had. The man looked at Remus and smirked.  
“Yea, no. I came to your rescue because you looked like you were about to pass out, but I also noticed you from across the room and thought you looked interesting. I was going to say hi anyway. So hi, my name’s Sirius. I’m here with my friend James, but he’s off somewhere trying to convince some poor, impressionable girl that he’s charming. What’s your name?”  
Remus now was beginning to sweat, but in a different way. The pretty boy wanted to talk to him? Had seen him and thought he looked interesting? Remus was no pro, but he felt as if he were on the brink of an existential crisis.  
“I’m Remus. Lupin. I’m here with my friend Lily and my roommate, Peter. Last I saw, they were trying to take over the world or something. I was just minding my own business with my warm beer, trying to figure out if it was too early to leave. Sorry. Parties just aren’t really my…forte.”  
“Hey, I get it. At least you’re here with people, right? I love a good party but this one is a bit lame. I mean, house music? Really? And Dub step? What year is this?”  
Remus found Sirius to be very funny, smart, charming and easy to talk to. They exchanged the usual information, such as hometowns and majors (English Lit and Engineering, respectively). Before he knew it, a very rough looking Lily came up behind him and put her head on his shoulder.  
“Rem. Remmy. My feet. They hurt. Let’s go. This was a stupid party, I’m not even drunk, there’s a stupid boy over there that will not shut up about football and I think I lost my bag. Oh. No. It’s on my arm. Ugh my feet. Come on, I want nachos.”  
Remus had to laugh at his friend. Regardless of what she claimed, she was very drunk and would doubtless want Remus to carry her halfway back to the dorms.  
“Well, I guess that’s my cue to go then. I can’t believe I made it to be one of the last to leave the party. That’s definitely a first for me! Which dorm are you in? Not that, I mean…just. Curious is all, if you wanted to…”  
Sirius laughed and shook his head. “Remus, please don’t worry. I had a great time. I’m over in Magnolia and could walk with you if you’d like. My friend James should be around soon. We can all go together to get those nachos if you’d like. Student Center is open ‘til 3.”  
Remus tried to contain his goofy grin. Not only had he spent a few hours talking and dancing with this boy, but he also wanted to get nachos! Even with a drunk and goofy Lily!  
“Ok, that sounds fine. Lil? That ok? And have you seen Peter?”  
“Yes, yes whatever. Just get me nachos! And he left with that girl he was talking to, Emily? Emma? -Something like that. She had pretty hair and a nice laugh. You have a nice laugh too, Remmy! Have I told you that I love you lately? And you haven’t introduced me to your friend!”  
Remus ducked his head and tried to will his blush away. “Well, good for Peter, I’ll just go back to the room with caution then. This is Sirius, Sirius this is Lily. We’re waiting for his friend and then we’ll get you nachos. And before you ask, I’m not carrying you. You should have worn different shoes. I love you too, and I will remind you of this moment in the morning when I wake you early to get coffee with me.”  
Lily just smiled dopily and started wandering toward the front door, until she spotted a young man with crazy curly hair walking toward them. He had the biggest smile on anyone’s face that Remus had ever seen. It almost looked as if it hurt. Lily was looking at him with interest, but was clearly trying not to show it.  
“Lila! So good to see you again! Sirius where the hell have you been all night, I’ve been looking for you! I did a keg stand and you missed it!”  
“It’s Lily, what kind of name is Lila? Ugh, ouch, Remus come on, my feet. Nachos. Let’s go!”  
“James, no one cares that you did a keg stand but I’m sure you’re very proud of yourself. We are going to escort these fine people to the Student Center so the lady can get some nachos.” Sirius grabbed his friend by the shoulders and they headed out the door.  
Once they arrived at the Student Center, Lily happily ordered her nachos and ditched her shoes. She started recounting the people she had met along the night and how Peter and the girl he had met were not at all subtle. Before long, James and Lily actually seemed to be hitting it off. Remus and Sirius were hitting it off as well. Remus was cautiously optimistic that at the very least they had made some new friends in their first week of school.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus and a hungover Lily recount their night.

Chapter 2

The next morning, true to his word, Remus woke Lily early to get to the Student Center for coffee and a bagel for him, and the greasiest sandwich he’d ever seen for Lily. She refused to take her sunglasses off the entire time they were inside, and wouldn’t even speak to Remus until she’d drank half her coffee and finished her sandwich.

  
“Remind me to never drink again, ok? I mean. I had maybe 4 beers and I feel like death! Or at least I think I had 4? It could have been 8. Whatever, I counted 4. You seemed happy though. You and Sirius seemed to hit it off. Please tell me you at least gave him your number? Or dorm number, something?”

  
“As a matter of fact, we did exchange numbers and I may be seeing him again today. What about you? James is a nice guy, very…big.”

  
“Ew Remus, don’t be gross!”

  
Remus blushed. “I’m not being gross! You’re like barely 5 feet tall and he’s clearly over 6 feet. You’re the gross one!”  
Lily stuck out her tongue and tried to steal Remus’ coffee, but the movement proved too much for her. “I need to go back to bed for a few days. Then we can discuss boys. Or girls. Or whatever. Speaking of, I saw you talking to a girl earlier in the night. She seemed cute, but let me guess? A little aggressive?”

  
Remus thought for a moment. He had actually forgotten about the encounter earlier in the night.

  
“She was definitely cute, just not my type. In the way that I’m not fully sure if like, you know, females are my type? I just. Well, you know. I haven’t figured it out yet.”

  
Lily leaned across the table to take Remus’ arm. “Hey. You don’t have to explain yourself to me! And you certainly don’t have to have it figured out right now. Just have fun! If you like that boy from last night, don’t pull a ‘you’. Just be open and enjoy yourself. Don’t overanalyze until you end up going into an anxiety-ridden coma or whatever it is you do. Just, be you! And that’s the best you’re going to get pep talk wise until I’ve slept off this hangover. I can’t believe you made me get up with you this morning. It’s inhumane! I’m going back to bed. Love you; come by later if you need to chat. I may be alive by then.”  
With that, Lily waltzed out with all the grace and dignity of a newborn colt. Remus shook his head and laughed at his friend. She wasn’t perfect, but he was glad that he had her in his life.

* * *

 

Later that afternoon, Remus was sitting in his dorm contemplating if he should text Sirius or Facebook stalk him when there was a very loud knock on the door. Remus flung his phone on the bed and rolled to open the door, only to see James and Sirius on the other side. James was still smiling too big to be allowed, and Sirius’ hair looked windswept and perfect, not that Remus was noticing that kind of thing.

  
“Hey Remus, Jim and I just finished playing a game of football in the park, and happened to be walking by. We’re about to go to the coffee shop in town. There’s supposed to be a band playing that seems kind of cool, if you’re interested?”  
Remus stared at the two blankly for a moment before he realized that he’d been asked a direct question. He snapped out of his stupor and said, “Sure, that sounds great let me just grab some things.”

  
“Do you, um, do you think your friend Lily might want to come? She seems like she might like music. I mean, she. Whatever. Do you think she’d like to come?”

  
“Smooth, Romeo,” Sirius quipped under his breath. James manfully ignored this and looked to Remus.

  
“Uh. I could shoot her a text to see if she’d be willing.”

  
(5:01PM): Hey. Are you alive? James & Sirius are in my room, want us to go to the coffee shop to see some band. Respond within two mins or we leave without you.

  
_(5:03PM): You owe me pizza. Trying to get my beauty rest. Meet at yours in ten._

  
“Well, Lily is in. She said she’ll meet us here in ten minutes, if that’s ok?”

  
“Definitely. We can wait.” James answered with his signature smile. Sirius rolled his eyes at his friend, but remained mostly quiet.

  
Remus felt a little awkward with both boys in his room. Peter still hadn’t made it back from the night before, and they didn’t really have much to do until Lily made it. He gave it his best shot at small talk.

  
“So, what’s this band we’re going to see?”

  
“Oh, our friend Marlene has a band, her and her girlfriend Dorcas play together. It’s pretty good! I’ve only heard one of their songs; Marlene has some weird rule about not performing for others unless it’s live. She’s a little crazy. But she’s cool! We can all hang out once they finish their set.” Sirius answered as calmly as he had the night before, but if Remus didn’t know any better, he’d have thought Sirius seemed a little nervous. Before he had enough time to speculate, Lily was at the door looking as fresh as a daisy, without a hint of her previous hangover. They headed toward the coffee shop together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished the rest of this fic tonight, it just needs some major editing before I post. I'm hoping to post by Friday night! Thanks for reading, and again any constructive feedback is most welcome!


	3. Chapter 3

Once at the coffee shop, the couples ordered their drinks and found a table near the stage to get ready to hear Marlene and Dorcas’ band. James informed Remus and Lily that the sound was a mash up of punk rock and 50s style Doo Wop.

  
“That’s an interesting combination,” Remus stated to Sirius. Sirius laughed and responded, “Yea, it was Marlene’s idea. She doesn’t like to take herself too seriously.” The conversation ebbed from there, and on the other side of the booth Lily and James were getting rather cozy waiting for the band to take stage. Remus was feeling decidedly fidgety. He wasn’t sure why he felt so nervous today when last night had been so easy, but he had a feeling it was a lack of alcohol coupled with the jitters from the caffeine that was making him feel so on edge. Luckily the shop was noisy, so it wasn’t obvious that he felt uncomfortable. He hoped.

  
“Hey, so I was wondering if once this is over if you’d like to go out with just me? We can ditch James, he seems happy enough to let Lily think he’s a normal human being for now. It’s a nice night, I was thinking we could take a ride on my bike or something?”

  
Remus began to laugh. “Oh my God, that is so cute! You want me to go on a ride on your bike? Am I going to stand on pegs, or ride the handle bars?”

  
Sirius gave a bemused sort of look before he realized where the confusion came from. He was laughing so hard tears were streaming down his face.

  
“You actually thought I wanted to take you on a ride on my bicycle?! Are you insane? What are we, 12? Haha, no way. I mean motorcycle. She’s my first true love and I keep her in a garage. Maintenance guy lets me keep her for $10 per month. We can stop by and pick her up and take a ride around.”

  
Remus felt like an ass, but the ice was definitely broken. He and Sirius laughed some more at the silly mix up, and before they knew it the girls’ were taking stage.

  
Marlene had waist length blond hair, and Dorcas looked really cool with a black and blue pixie cut. There was a third person on stage that looked vaguely recognizable…

  
“Hey Remus, isn’t she that girl that you had to run away from last night?” Lily was trying to stifle her laughter as she stage whispered over the opening number. Remus decided to maintain his dignity by pretending he couldn’t hear her.  
The band finished with their number, which Remus found to be surprisingly good despite the interesting genre. The band began the second song and Remus got lost in the music for a bit. By the time they had finished, Remus was itching to get some time alone with Sirius so he could get to know him better. James seemed just as eager to get some alone time with Lily. The girl’s made their way to the table to chat for a few minutes.

  
“Marlene! That was awesome, you guys killed! Hey, this is Remus and the lovely redhead to my right is Ms. Lily Evans. We met them last night and they’re really cool. We’re glad we could make it to your first open mic night; that was some interesting music selection. “ James introduced the girls as they passed their coffees around and brought up more chairs.  
“Hey, you look familiar! Don’t I know you from somewhere?” The girl with the pink hair said to Remus.

  
“Uh, yea I think we may have met last night? At the party? You guys were really great, by the way!”

  
“Yea thanks! Ha, wow if I had known you like guys I wouldn’t have bothered. Just glad I lost you to a worthy opponent.”  
Remus blushed deeply at that, but Sirius laughed, gave a bow and doffed an imaginary hat, “The most worthy opponent, m’lady.”

Marlene scrunched her nose and rolled her eyes at Dorcas. “You guys are weird. I’m starving and Dor promised me a back rub after the set. We’re off. Tonks, are you coming or do you want to hang?”

  
“Nah, I’ll head out with you two lovebirds. I’m pretty tired too and was going to meet with a few people from the criminal justice department before classes start. Nice meeting ya’ll! By Sirius!” She threw him a wink and blew a kiss and the trio left, leaving Remus, Sirius, James and Lily alone at the table.

  
Lily and Remus communicated with a look that they were ready to leave with their respective dates and would meet up later. Unbeknownst to them, James and Sirius were exchanging similar looks. James gave an exaggerated yawn and said, “Well, it’s getting late! Lily, would you allow me to escort you to your room? Or we could always get some more nachos, you seem to like those.”

  
Lily rolled her eyes but laughed. “Actually, I’m over nachos, but I wouldn’t say no to pizza. You’re buying. Bye Rem, bye Sirius, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

  
“So we’re basically good to do whatever then. Bye Lil, bye James.”

  
Lily stuck out her tongue, leaving Remus and Sirius.

  
“I hope you had a nice time. Sorry it got a little awkward with Tonks, I didn’t realize she’d be here. But it seemed to go nicely. I for one am happy that you’re more into guys then you are girls. Ready to see my bike? And to be clear-motorcycle. Not bicycle.”

  
Remus ducked his head and smiled. “It wasn’t so bad. She actually seems like the type of person I would definitely want to be friends with. Reminds me of Lily a bit. Can come off as super intimidating, but totally someone to have fun with. And yes. I am definitely ready for that bike ride.” Without much thought, Remus held out his hand for Sirius, and they left the coffee shop for their real date.


	4. Chapter 4

Once they made it to the “garage” where Sirius stored his bike, Remus was beginning to feel very nervous. He’d never ridden a motorcycle before, but felt that it would be a really fun experience. That is, if he could stop shaking.

“Hey. It’s ok to be nervous; we can always do something different for now if you’re scared. I mean, maybe we could go to the playground and find some nice, safe swings to play on.”

Remus shoved Sirius and steeled his nerves. “Let’s do this.”

Getting onto the bike proved to be incredibly awkward. Remus didn’t quite feel comfortable enough yet to be very close to Sirius for one, and another, he was worried that he was going to lose his balance and make them fall. 

“Just scotch closer, hang on tight and follow my lead!”

With these encouraging words, Sirius revved the engine and they were off. After the initial panic-induced black out, Remus found that he actually very much enjoyed being on the motorcycle. It was nice to just be able to be near Sirius without worrying about putting his foot in his mouth. He knew it was crazy, but it was almost as if they had known each other forever. Sirius might poke fun at his anxiety, but not in a mean way. More, it felt as if he were allowing Remus to feel validated and letting him know that it was ok to feel anxious, but to live life anyway. 

By the time they slowed and pulled off the highway, Remus had completely forgotten his earlier panic. They pulled in front of an old abandoned gas station and Sirius shut off the engine. Without lights and people around, the world seemed incredibly quiet after the roar of the engine. The stars were bright and there was a full moon. Sirius had packed snacks and a blanket before asking Remus to the coffee shop. Remus was delighted. "This date was premeditated! You brought goldfish. And chocolate chip cookies! Best. Date. Ever." Sirius smiled and put his hand on Remus'.

Before he could completely lose his nerve, Remus leaned in closer and kissed Sirius on the side of his mouth. He tasted like coffee and cookies, but had an underlying hint of mint on his breath from his toothpaste. Sirius breathed in deeply, smiled gently and leaned in to kiss Remus fully on the mouth. It started slow and sweet, but quickly built until they had to break apart to catch their breaths. 

“Remus Lupin, I am incredibly glad that I rescued you from a 5 foot punk rock girl at a Freshman Rush party last night. I have a feeling this may be the start of something beautiful.”

Instead of responding with words, Remus leaned and in and continued to kiss Sirius with nothing around but the light from the full moon and the twinkling stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! *Sweats* I have so much respect for people who have been doing this for years and pop these out like it's nothing. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed these last chapters.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't actually know if that's how Lily Evans would act drunk, but it's sure as hell how I act drunk, and we should "write what we know", right!? Not sure if I have Sirius' characterization down in this. He seems a little too stiff and aloof, but I couldn't really add more without this getting too tedious and chatty. Let me know what you think and I'll try to give him more personality going forward!
> 
> Some unnecessary background about me: I majored in History so am very unexperienced with creative writing, and especially dialougue. I read all the time and have really gotten into WolfStar in the past year and a half or so, and I wanted to try to give it a whirl and write about my OTP.


End file.
